<p>Thanks for all the info. It just scares me that with all the warnings about drinking, kids should fall into another addictive trap, with the added danger that they feel they are doing better. MOWC, I’ll read the article.</p>
<p>Why does this suprise anyone? All over TV we see ads for this drug or that drug- take a drug be happy, take a drug, stay awake, and yet we are all agasp that Ivy league kids take the modern tady verion of speed.</p>
<p>Pop a pill, ge tthe job done is our nations motto</p>
<p>I guess my concern with this drug is that it actually does work, according to the reports. Students (and employed professionals) feel at a disadvantage if the DON’T take these drugs.</p>
<p>Kelsmom, I am so sorry about your brother. </p>
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<p>I hope that is a joke. Those who take it for medical reasons should not be forced to disclose that and those who are taking it illegally are not going to check a box.</p>
<p>This simply another type of “speed.” It has a slightly different mechanism of action, but it’s pretty much the same. It allows one to stay awake longer and it makes one “feel” like one is thinking more clearly, but there is little evidence that it improves quality of work, simply quantity. College kids have been using this type of drug for 40 years.</p>
<p>OK, not admitting to anything illegal. I was perscribed Ritalin by my local Doctor during part of both my High School and College Career for what I believe were legitamite ADHD symptoms. These drugs aren’t all that they’re cracked up to be. I don’t use Ritalin anymore. I can make it through class now. You do grow out of ADHD. You’re just sometimes delayed by 5ish years in maturity.</p>
<p>Anyway, Ritalin helps you concentrate. Lots of drugs help you concentrate. I believe Caffeine helps you concertrate. I actually would not say Ritalin is that much more powerful than caffeine having experience with both. Caffiene will make use the bathroom more though :). Ritalin has other problems. If you take it too late at night, I couldn’t sleep. The stuff exhauted me. Ritalin helps you concentrate, but energy had to come from somewhere. When the Ritalin wore off, I’d be exhausted, and the more exhausted I’d be the less of an effect the Ritalin would have. When the Ritalin wears off after 5 or so hours, you can rebound and feel very agitated. I honestly believe motivation, excercise, sleep, a quiet place to study, and cup of tea or coffee will work about 100 times better than Ritalin if the only reason you’re using Ritalin is the hope of some sort of increased productivity.</p>
<p>Also, there have actually been some books written about my next point. Some people who are truly ADHD become less creative and lose some spatial and conceptual ability when on Ritalin. When the Ritalin wears off, the abilites come back. Honestly, this was my experience. Ritalin might have helped me do grunt work quickly, but I never wanted the stuff for a Calculus or Physics test. I’d do worse. I couldn’t think.</p>
<p>My two cents.</p>
<p>I do feel disadvantaged by not using these drugs. I used to be on ritalin in elementary school because I was diagnosed with ADHD. If I could go back in time, and this is the complete truth, I would tell myself to not use the ritalin, hide it from my parents, and save it for high school. Go ahead, give me an ethics speech about it…over the internet.</p>
<p>^Sounds like a completely reasonable thing to want to do. If they’re harmful they’re not going to be less harmful on a kid, and someone in high school or college would get more use out of it.</p>
<p>Though do they expire?</p>
<p>It is ridiculously (criminally, in my mind) easy to get any of these stimulants, as well as any anti-depressant. They are self-reported conditions, and family physicians and pediatricians are all too happy to prescribe medications. Basing an entire condition on a "checklist’ (or even two checklists) means there are literally millions of kids wandering around with legal prescriptions for these medications. And a LOT of them are selling their Ritalin, and a lot are having it stolen, often right from their bedrooms.</p>
<p>These drugs should only be administered by psychiatrists or psychopharmacologists, after a full evaluation, but most of the time, it is just the family doc writing the script.</p>
<p>^Because only the person who can afford the expensive doctor and expensive tests deserves it right? That and the fact that the family doctor is an idiot who didn’t go to med school, unlike the psychiatrists and psycho pharmacologists who are obviously the only authority on who should be allowed to take what medicine.</p>
<p>There are medical specialists for a reason. I wouldn’t want my family doc doing open heart surgery on me either. Specialists are up on the most recent advancements in the field, and are much more apt to check drug interactions and to do appropriate bloodwork. Family do a great job with ear infections and sore throats and common complaints. Administering and monitoring psychiatric drugs should be left to the psychiatrists and psychopharmachologists—and yes, I realize that we have a shortage of such specialists in this country.</p>
<p>I was objecting to your opinion that people shouldn’t be allowed to decide who they think is the best authority on these things and consult them. Anyone who wants to go to the expensive doctor and run the expensive tests should be allowed to do so. Anyone who thinks the family doctor is plenty good enough should be allowed to go to him. It’s not like anyone will be forcing medications on to you or your kids. It’s not your business to worry about other people’s health, unless you’re a doctor. If you are a doctor it’s only your business to worry about your patient’s health.</p>
<p>Having all kinds of kids running around sharing overly (and not always carefully) prescribed psychiatric medications is a health concern for all of us. As with many other “individual” decisions in this country, there is impact on many more people than simply the individual.</p>
<p>And the great thing about the US of A is that everyone can have an opinion, and share it freely, whether or not anyone else believes it is their business…or not!</p>
<p>Other than a competitive disadvantage, how does one person taking Adderall harm society?</p>
<p>And if it does harm society, how does the the Adderall prescribed by the family doctor do more harm than the Adderall prescribed by psychiatrists and psycho pharmacologists?</p>
<p>I suppose you are asking part A as a rhetorical question, no?</p>
<p>Here is just a small list of issues with Ritalin (not the rest of the laundry list of like stimulants):</p>
<p>[Dangers</a> of Ritalin](<a href=“http://drbate.com/Ref/DEA.html]Dangers”>http://drbate.com/Ref/DEA.html)</p>
<p>To part B, proper diagnosis and treatment by specialized professionals means that there are fewer people running around on these medications who can be potentially sharing or selling them, and potentially causing harm to themselves and others.</p>
<p>Adderall is banned in Canada due to multiple cases of sudden death (apparently, it can cause serious heart impact for those with undiagnosed heart issues).
My s tells me use of these drugs is VERY common on campus…especially during finals.
I have friends who have moved to get their kids diagnosed with ADD to allow them to legally use these drugs.
My question is this. When does a diagnosis of ADD make sense? Everyone, it seems, can have issues with distraction and lack of focus…when it it a disease? I thought it was an issue if there was a CLEAR impact on your grades or social life. But it seems to me that I see some kids getting diagnosed because they take a bit longer than usual on homework! Seems like a pretty drastic step to me.</p>
<p>There’s an article in October’s Scientific American about this.</p>
<p>[Turbocharging</a> the Brain–Pills to Make You Smarter?: Scientific American](<a href=“http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=turbocharging-the-brain]Turbocharging”>Turbocharging the Brain--Pills to Make You Smarter? | Scientific American)</p>
<p>New Yorker article on Brain Enhancers.</p>
<p>[The</a> underground world of neuroenhancing drugs : The New Yorker](<a href=“http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/04/27/090427fa_fact_talbot]The”>The Underground World of “Neuroenhancing” Drugs | The New Yorker)</p>
<p>Our DD has had trouble for years concentrating and focusing, so much so it affects her grades and interactions with friends, which in turn affects her confidence. </p>
<p>When she was 8, we took her to be evaluated by a team of professionals, headed up by a neuropsychologist. The extensive testing took parts of two days. We were also interviewed, and we had to fill out many questionnaires and checklists, as did her teachers. </p>
<p>Their conclusion? There was nothing diagnosable, just a little anxiety and executive function weaknesses. </p>
<p>Several years later she was still having the same troubles. We took her to a child psychiatrist. Again, she found nothing. </p>
<p>We were not anxious to put our DD on medication. We thought a trial run might be worth a try. The doctor would not write her a prescription. I was surprised since I had heard stimulant medication is readily prescribed, be that right or wrong. </p>
<p>Maybe professionals are becoming more careful.</p>
<p>^^^
depends on the professional.
There are a number of docs around here that are known for “easy ADD diagnoses.”
No tests, just tell me your symptoms. Yeah, that sounds about right…here you go. </p>
<p>Hey, maybe I should take Ritalin to help me focus…including staying off this board! Just kidding…</p>